kellygirl I am fighting now to keep one of my puppies alive. Maybe what I am about to tell you will help your situation. I had two puppies, both at 7 1/2 weeks old. My girl dakota started acting different than usual. She never was much of an eater, but now she didn't want to eat at all. I thought maybe it was because we had played outside alot over the weekend and she got hot or something. Her sister zena was fine. I just kept giving her water and keeping her cool and comfortable. I went to work thursday morning and she was drinking water a little but wouldnt even try to eat again. I gave her soft puppy food and she wouldn't try to eat this so I decided to make an appointment with the vet. That evening when I got home she looked horrible. She could hardly walk. When she attempted to drink, she threw up. I had heard a myth that if your dog had parvo then there would be blood in their stool and in their vomit. not true. I took her to the vet not even thinking that she had parvo. They did a test and it was parvo. I had no idea what to do. She said I could IV her but that the best thing for her would be to put her down. I was in shock. I totally lost it and she said she was sorry. From what the vet told me Dakota was in severe pain and they probably wouldn't be able to save her and I should prepare to bring zena in also. I left the vet without my little dakota. I felt like I totally let her down. But I wasn't educated enough on parvo, I thought it was always fatal. I didn't know how I was going to tell my 5 year old that Dakota couldn't come home with me. But something the vet said stayed with me. The IV for dehydration. I became determined to find something to help my zena. I was not going to lose her too and I could not believe there was nothing I could do. I spent some time on the phone and so did my husband. We got in contact with a breeder that gave us some suggestions. He has saved several dogs from parvo. Parvo is a virus. It attacks the intestines and causes them to feel like crap. They get fevers with this also and that adds to them not wanting to eat or drink. If you can, get a syringe, get some pedialyte, childrens tylenol and childrens kaopectate. Every hour, give your puppies 2 syringes full of pedialyte, every 4 hours give them a dose of childrens tylenol, go by the dosage on the bottle, same with childrens kaopectate. They will fight you tooth and nail so you will probably need help. There is some stuff they sell online that is called parvaid. For about $40.00 you get that and another vitamin supplement. I'm not a vet. I'm not an expert. Do some research. Zena is getting better and she actually went to look for water and drank alittle. I bouhgt her some gerber graduates weenies and she ate one. I know that we're not through the woods yet but it's the third day and I have hope. Don't just put them down. THere are pet clinics out there that will help you. Just keep trying.

To my opinion you should put the poor thing to sleep. I you love something you should set it free.Don't the poor thing suffer, it might be hard to believe it, but at sometime you will find a new companion that will be by your side. He shouldn't suffer.

Get another vet Kellygirl that vet is WRONG If a pup get parvo , it will be dead in three days the virus strips the intestinal tract if you catch it in time you can save them, i know first hand , i lost 1 and saved 1 which was a terrible lose for me. Make sure you get all pups started on their shots at 4 weeks old and not later. Just some friendly advice.

tHIS MESSAGE IS FOR WENDY OR WBERGEN69....I TRIED TO E MAIL YOU FOR THE RECIPE FOR THE PARVAID BUT FOR SOME REASON IT COMES BACK..I HAVE A PUPPY WITH PARVO AND I'M REALLY DESPERATE.COULD YOU PLEASE E MAIL ME THE RECIPE AT xXbLUeYDdEEXx@YAHOO.COM... I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT ALOT...THIS IS MY SECOND PUP TO GET PARVO IN A WEEK AND I STILL HAVE 1 PUP..MY PROBLEM IS THEY WERE ALL INSIDE DOGS AND ALL FREE TO ROAM MY ENTIRE HOUSE SO MY HOUSE IS FULL OF PARVO....BLEACH DOESNT WORK FOR CARPETS AND BEDS...ANY SUGGESTIONS????? ANY HELP AT ALL WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED..... DEE

We bough a german shepard pup abut six weeks old,when we brought her home we noticed that her stool was not right.I wanted to take her back,but my husband said that we were to treat her,so we did,she died.We then got another,puppy a rigeback,who also died,no where did any body tell us how contagous this virus was.We then were given a husky cross who before we brought it home got his shots,he too died 7 days later,I then read up about parvro,and for three months I was washing everthing in pure bleach.We then got a staffie who is now 4 months old and had his shots hes doing fine.Its not a nice thing to go through.

We have had our baby for 2 months (she's 5 months old now) and the shelter we got her from said they'd finish her shots, but as we fought with them for a month, she got Parvo. She got sick Friday night and I knew something was really wrong. We took her to the vet on Sat. and she was really active which threw them off. Finally we dropped her off Monday (yesterday) and they realized that she has Parvo. She's still really active and seems happy but won't eat. It looks like she hasn't been throwing up though which I suppose is a good sign. She almost doesn't know she's sick. I just hope she makes it. How long do you think it will be before she gets out of the animal hospital? I want my baby home.

allie if i had put my golden mix to sleep when he was looking really bad from his bout with parvo i would have missed out on the most wonderful 15 1/2 years i could ever spend with any dog. i think they should be given a chance !!!!

Our vet called us yesterday and told us her white cell count was good and that she'd probably be able to come home with us on Thurs. Originally when I dropped her off I asked if they thought I'd need to put her down and they looked at me like I was crazy. Today or tomorrow they're going to check her on solid foods again. I'm glad we gave her a chance.

I agree with the others, Allie that is bad bad advice you gave. Parvovirus isn't an automatic death sentence. Most dogs will survive parvovirus if treated at the vets and intravenously. I know a friend has a dog that also would also be missing out on time spent with a fantastic dog if they'd have had him put to sleep at first signs of it. When we dropped him off at the vets for treatment, he was so weak he couldn't even stand. Now he's happy and healthy, even to this day. If a dog is treated at the vet's office intraveneously for Parvo and dies, you can be sure you've done everything that could be done to help him survive. Just letting them die or having them euthanized at first signs of parvo is cruel and inhumane IMHO. And it doesn't even give the dog a chance to live.

Even at our shelter where Parvo is the worst possible word to hear, we do not euthanize immediately. If it is a puppy, we try to treat it in our clinic area. Unfortunetly, our success rate is low because of the amount of animals that come in and how fast it can be spread. Last year we had a "breakout" and ended up euthanizing 4 dogs because they had it, but our shelter has 60 kennels per run, 30 on each side, (we have two runs) but any way, in each run the dogs are right next to each other, like most shelters, so when Parvo does come, if the animals can't get treated immediately, we do euthanize because they can take out the entire shelter. We also quarentine the entire run for 14-21 days to be sure that no one else has it. The success rate of prevention of spreading the disease it much higher. But if it was someones dog, we STRONGLY suggest to people to get it treated. Chances are very good if you can help them from the beginning. Never would I suggest euthanasia at the first signs unless you had over 100 dogs to care for and protect from the disease.

I found many of your stories very promising and I found many of them ...not so much. I too have a very sick little one. I lost an American Eskimo of almost 12 years to cancer the end of May. The people we bought her from were still raising A. E. and had one ready to deliver. At last the day came when I could go pick up my little girl. She was following after her mommy and appeared healthy. We gave her a flea bath that evening and she didn't want to eat but I figured maybe she had just eaten before we picked her up and the stress of leaving her mom, the bath, etc. She only pottied when I took her out and didn't cry at all during the night. The next morning she still didn't want to eat. I had made her well puppy check up but the soonest they had was 4:30 that afternoon. I started to notice a little blood in her stool. I told the vet all of this when we went for her check up and they took her temp (she had a fever and was a bit dehydrated) and looked her over. The vet said she could possibly have just an infection from the roundworms but that she suspected parvo. We left her there and they put her on IV liquids and antibiotics. Her stools have become more frequent but still not profuse. She still vomits every once in a while. It has been 24 hours since I took her in and she is still alive so I am a little hopeful....but her lab work came back this afternoon and everything was low. I found out her litter mate that left the same day died either last night or early this morning but the one still at the breeders place says that one is doing fine.......She is only 6 weeks old and weighs 2 pounds. I am already so attached after only having her for 24 hours I guess because I was so primed to have another puppy. She was alert when I visited her this morning but at lunch she wasn't as much. However, this afternoon, the vet said she got up and walked over to her......thank you everyone for all of your thoughts and it is so nice to share sorrow, happiness, etc with others who care for their little ones so much. The vet was someone I hadn't seen with my other animals so it is hard to read what she is saying. Is she hopeful or just doing all they can do to provide me with the comfort that I knew I had done all I could do.....

Some promising news! I went to see my puppy this morning and while waiting for a gown and gloves I kept hearing this little yelp. It was her.....that was the first time I had heard her make any noise.....she was walking around in her cage; they offered her some food but she threw it up and still a little bit of bloody stool but the fact that she is up and walking and "barking" I think is very hopeful. It didn't go through so clicking again, sorry if it posts twice.

I had a puppy with parve also. I took her to the vet right away and she said I could take her home and try to IV her, but it was hard to do and the best thing was to leave her at the vet and have them do it. She told me she would let me know if she thought the puppy was going to die. The puppy stayed at the vet's for four days and it was very expensive, but she lived. You should find another vet who will at least try to save your puppy. Good Luck!

Well my puppy wasn't as lively today as she was yesterday; she is showing interest in food but won't really eat anything; she is drinking a little water; they still have her on IV's. I asked the vet if she is optimistic or guarded still; she said somewhere in between; they are going to run more tests today to see if her values are going back up......hopefully they are!!!!!

We got our puppy's lab report back this evening; her values are still going down but her activity level is still up....the biggest concern was on Tuesday her white count was 4-5000 and today it was only 600.....she is still on IV's and 2 different antibiotics.....she is drinking water......showing interest in food but not eating.....she is still throwing up and having blood stool but not near as often......her platelettes were up to 150,000 were as normal is 200,000 she is still anemic and her protein is still going down a little bit..........but the vet said we have to look at how perky she is most of the time too....anyone know what all of this means in the long run....are we looking at recovery or just prolonging the inevitable? We did get our money back from the breeder to apply to our vet bill but her advice was just put her to sleep........I figure as long as she is fighting to live I owe it to her to fight too.........

My 5 month old pup recovered from Parvo. I know that my vet didn't feed her while she was on the IV because she would just throw it up. They waited until she was feeling a bit better to give it to her. They also told me that although she wasn't too too bad that she'd get worse before she got better. They said there's an 80% chance of survival. I say that's a really good chance. Luckily my pup was only hooked up to the IV for 3 days and we got to take her home. I know how stressful it is, but I'd definitely say to give your dog a chance. Our vet bill was like $600 or $700 but it was definitely worth it. Also, I don't know if it really made a difference, but I went to go see her at least once a day. She was so excited to have visitors since she was in isolation and I think she knew we didn't give up on her since we kept visiting. Best of luck. Debbie